a look at...
Blondie and Dagwood
Characters by Dean Young
Dean Young, son of Blondie creator Chic Young, is a
Dagwood who lives in Belleair with wife Charlotte.
Dean carries on the comic strip that appears in
thousands of newspapers around the world in a variety of
languages. It began in 1930, and Dean took over creative
control after his father, who lived on Clearwater Beach,
died in 1973.
Originally, the character Blondie Boopadoop was a
carefree flapper and Dagwood Bumstead was the son of a
millionaire industrialist. They married in the strip in 1933,
and Dagwood’s parents disinherited him, turning the
couple into a middle-class suburban family with Blondie
as the sensible head of the household and Dagwood as
a sandwich loving everyman. The characters have a dog
Daisy. Their two children are Alexander, a boy who was
born in the strip in 1941, and a younger girl named Cookie
who was born in the strip in 1934.
The Dagwood character is the office manager for J.C.
Dithers Construction Co., and Blondie operates a catering
business with her neighbor Tootsie. The cartoon characters
were featured in a series of 28 films from 1938-1950, on the
radio from 1939 to 1950, and on television in 1957, 1968
and 1969.
Here are the comic strip characters’ responses to the
following questions:
What do you like best about Tampa Bay?
Blondie: The beautiful beaches
Dagwood: All the great restaurants
What could you talk about for hours?
Blondie: Recipes…and never missing a deadline
Dagwood: Building the perfect sandwich…and never
missing a deadline
What is your favorite word?
Blondie: Dagwood
Dagwood: Blondie
114 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2021
What do you do on your day off?
Blondie: Go shopping
Dagwood: Play golf
What are you famous for?
Blondie: My delicious pot roast
Dagwood: The Dagwood Sandwich…and never missing a
deadline
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Blondie: Marry someone who has the same mindset as you
do.
Dagwood: Whatever she said!
What don’t people know about you?
Blondie: That we have never missed a deadline.
Dagwood: Not one deadline. Not even close!
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Blondie: Starting my successful catering business
Dagwood: Convincing my beautiful wife to marry me
What is your idea of happiness?
Blondie: Being on a picnic with my family…and never
missing a deadline
Dagwood: An undisturbed nap, while dreaming about
being on a picnic with my family…and never missing a
deadline
What is your pet peeve?
Blondie: Being reminded of a deadline
Dagwood: Definitely being reminded of a deadline!
What is the secret to your success?
Blondie: Dagwood…and never missing a deadline
Dagwood: Blondie…and never missing a deadline
How would you like to be remembered?
Blondie: As an amazing cook, a good friend, a great mom
and a loving wife…and never missing a deadline
Dagwood: As a nice guy, a great dad, and a loving husband…
and never missing a deadline! 9